The detection and tracking of a target object or objects is typically accomplished with radio detection and ranging, commonly known as radar. Radar systems typically emit electromagnetic energy and detect the reflection of that energy scattered by a target object. By analyzing the time difference of arrival, Doppler shift, and various other changes in the reflected energy, the location and movement of the target object can be calculated. A pulse based radar system scans a field of view and emits timed pulses of energy. Such radar systems, including, for example, counter target acquisition (CTA) type radar systems, can require both short range and long range target detection and tracking. Long range (e.g. on the order of 60 kilometers (Km) or more) detection performance requires relatively long pulse repetition intervals (PRI). A narrow beam is typically required for long range target detection and tracking.
A problem with the higher sensitivity of the CTA radar system is the enormous amount of data with which it has to contend. For example, celebratory friendly fire is often a problem because the projectiles such as the resulting bullet slugs are detectable by the radar (especially at short range), and since they are ballistic in nature, can often be difficult to distinguish from short range hostile projectiles. The classification of non-hostile targets is an issue because in order to resolve it, radar resources may have to be used to do so. There is a need, therefore, to classify a target as non-hostile as soon as possible so as to not expend valuable radar resources to do so, such as with celebratory gunfire. This is especially true for the shorter range targets, where radar resources tend to be more stressed. Therefore there is a need for classifying targets as to type (i.e., celebratory fire, mortars, cannon fire, artillery shells, or rockets, etc.) and using such classification to improve the efficiency of CTA radar.